Getting a CT and nervous!

Bees, I am super nervous. I have been diagnosed with a cyst on my right ear. It began as to what looked like a pimple right in my outer ear, but it has grown a lot in the last few months almost to the point of blocking the ear canal. It doesn’t look good in size or color. So I went to the ear doctor, and he suggested me to get a CT, and he said likely they would need to remove it surgically. Now, I have never done a CT before, and I am little terrified as I read stories of people who had side effecs from the IV iodine contrast. As far as I know, I am not allergic, but I also read that someone can become allergic to it in a matter of days. If you know someone or you yourself has had a CT, how was it like? What can I take/buy to diminish the side effects in case they come later after the CT? I am a little scare. Any advice?

candy11: First of all, have they told you they are going to use a contrast medium? CT’s are done with and without.

You will be asked to fill out a questionnaire or asked verbally about any history of allergies/allergic reactions.

The percentage of allergic reactions is rare, but you couldn’t be in a better place than a health care facility should you ever have a reaction.

<h3>Iodine-based Contrast Materials</h3>

Mild reactions include:

nausea and vomiting

headache

itching

flushing

mild skin rash or hives

Moderate reactions include:

severe skin rash or hives

wheezing

abnormal heart rhythms

high or low blood pressure

shortness of breath or difficulty breathing

Severe reactions include:

difficulty breathing

cardiac arrest

swelling of the throat or other parts of the body

convulsions

profound low blood pressure

A very small percentage of patients may develop a delayed reaction with a rash which can occur hours to days after an imaging exam with an iodine-based contrast material. Most are mild, but severe rashes may require medication after discussion with your physician.

Everyone should always have Benadryl- an antihistamine- at home all the time, but if you don’t , buy some to have on hand in the remote chance that you have a delayed reaction.

julies1949: The marked on the paper IV, so I am assuming they will inject iodine contrast since the nurse asked me if I was allergic. I am not really sure this procedure is needed as my cyst keeps growing, and by the time the do the surgey, it would have moved or grown.

I have had a ct, with and without contrast, so I recieved the iodine. I was nervous about reactions, but I did not have any. The weirdest part for me was that it made me feel a weird warm sensation, like I peed my pants, apparently that is normal. I also had a metallic taste in my mouth, but that was it. Drink lots of water when you are done to help flush your system.

Also, my FI had a cyst that kept growing on the backside of his ear, his Doctor found it slightly concerning. He had a ct and everything was fine. They drained it and that was it. There is a possibility of it coming back, but it hasn’t yet and that was almost 3 years ago.

Try not to worry so much about being allergic, unless there’s reason to. The same thing could be said of many common allergens! You don’t worry anytime you eat a food that you aren’t allergic to but that many people are, right?

I think I’ve had 2 CT scans, although one was sitting up, the other laying down and the more recent one they said you never sit up for them. I didn’t have contrast for those. It’s a little noisy, and you sit still for a while, but they are faster than an MRI.

I did have a radioactive dye for a bone scan. I felt worn out for a few days after, but no other side effects.

candy11: for your first time, i can see how it can be scary. Unfortunetly i have had multiple cat scans throughout the years, 2 in the last month actually. You will lay on your back and arms either up by your head or down by your sides. The radiologist will leave the room and talked to you through a microphone. The machine will move back and forth and there will be audio telling you to hold your breath and then when to breathe. You dont hold your breath for longer than 5 seconds. You will not feel anything and will be complete in less than 5 minutes.

Without contrast is so quick and easy!

with contrast… They will inject the dye through an iv while you are laying on the catscan machine. I get nausea quickly when my body feels “off” so i am not a big fan. It is really interesting feeling how quickly your blood is pumping throughout yiur body, because in a matter of a few seconds your entire body will get a warming feeling. You may feel like you need to urinate but the weirdest feeling to me is when the blood with contrast moves through your toungue. Gah. It goes away in a few moments and they will tell you to drink a lot of water after to flush it through your system.

I am a CT technologist. I have seen only a few bad allergic reactions in the 10 years I have been doing them. Even mild reactions are pretty rare and usually it is just a few hives. The reactions are usually pretty immediate so don’t worry about having a problem later on. Antibiotics and pain medications are a much more common allergen than the IV contrast. The old dyes that used to be used 20 years ago were very different, the ones used now are very safe. It does make you feel like you are peeing though and many people get a warm feeling in the throat and a metallic taste.

slp617: Sorry for going off topic, but do you have an idea what it may have been before when I was sitting up? When I had the more recent CT scan she said it would have been just an x-ray. I know that wasn’t the case though. My entire head was surrounding by something. It moved a bit (spun?) and made noise too.

It doesn’t really matter, it was years ago, but now I want to know what it was!

PolkaswithPitbulls: Maybe, but other than having that done at the dentist, it doesn’t sound familiar. It was also done at a hospital and not just one of the imaging labs. I have no idea if that’s typical for a non-dental panorex though.

candy11: I’ve had two CTs both without then with contrast. It gives you a warm feeling so a lot of people think they peed themselves. The first time the tech warned me so I didn’t wig out. The second time they didn’t warn me. But it was totally painless.